How to check international call rates before you call from South Africa
Type the country. See the price. Then decide.
Most people find out what an international call cost after the airtime is gone. It does not have to work that way. Two minutes of checking first can save a great deal.
What makes one call cost more than another
- The country. Rates differ enormously. Two countries that sit next to each other can differ many times over.
- Mobile or landline. In most countries, calling a cellphone costs more than calling a landline. In a few it is the same.
- The network of the person you call. Some providers charge different rates for different mobile networks in the same country.
- How the call is counted. Per minute, per block, or per second. A low rate rounded up to the minute can cost more than a higher one charged per second.
How to check, with any provider
- Find the rate for the exact country and the exact type of number.
- Ignore "from" prices. They are the lowest rate, often for a landline in the capital.
- Check whether the first minute is charged in full.
- Work out a real call: a ten-minute call to that number, in rands.
How we do it
On our World Call page there is a calculator. Choose the country and the kind of number, and it shows the real Ukutel rate, the same rate the app will charge. If you know the full number, you can type it in and see the rate for that number. Every call is charged per second, so a ten-minute call is exactly ten minutes of that rate.
We publish the price before the call because it is the fair thing to do, and because we are a small company that has to earn trust the slow way. If the rate to your country is not good with us, you will see that too, and you can decide.
After each call, the app shows what it cost.